YouTube Gets A New Look On Chrome For Android

For most users, the YouTube app for Android is the go-to when checking out the latest videos in your playlist but sometimes, you just want to stay in Chrome, watch a video and move on without launching the app.

A recent update to the Developer and Canary builds of Chrome will now make the YouTube in Chrome experience feel more similar to using the native app. Historically, the YouTube on Chrome mobile greatly mirrored the desktop experience when it comes to controls and appearance.

The new setting is disabled behind the flag #enable-modern-media-controls in the Canary and Developer builds of Chrome for Android and they’re available as a direct download from the Play Store should you want to check this new feature out.

Once enabled, YouTube videos in Chrome will take on controls like that of the Android App. The play button at the bottom of the video is replaced by a larger one in the center of the screen and the solid block background of the scrub bar is now a more fluid gradient design that feels less intrusive and presents a touch of an overlay to the whole video when the controls are present.

Current YouTube on Chrome

New YouTube Look

The update also brings the double-tap feature to Chrome. If you aren’t familiar with this, open your YouTube app on your phone and start a video. If you double-tap on the right side of the video it will fast forward ten seconds. Do the same on the left side of the screen and back ten seconds you will go.

Personally, I’m really liking the new look and look forward to this addition making its way to Stable. It definitely still has some kinks to be worked out, though. When entering full-screen I experience multiple instances of the player freezing or completely crashing. Still, I like it.

You can try it out by downloading Chrome Canary or Developer for Android from the Google Play Store and enabling the setting by typing chrome://flags in your URL bar and searching “modern media controls.”

Note: The flag appears to apply to Chrome OS, Mac, Windows and Linux as well but as of today the new controls aren’t showing up on my Chromebook running Chrome OS 65 Developer channel. Hopefully, the new look will find its way to Chrome OS and other desktops.

About Gabriel Brangers

Lover of all things coffee. Foodie for life. Passionate drummer, hobby guitar player, Web designer and proud Army Veteran. I have come to drink coffee and tell the world of all things Chrome. "Whatever you do, Carpe the heck out of that Diem" - Roman poet, Horace. Slightly paraphrased.